You may not know Ben Curtis by name, but if you were watching TV in the early 2000s, you definitely know his face. Curtis played Steve, the "Dell Dude" in a slew of classic commercials for the computer company. It was almost impossible to watch your favorite show without hearing his catchphrase: "Dude, you're getting a Dell." So where is the Dell Dude now?
As Curtis recalled to Business Insider in 2014, he was a 19-year-old acting student at New York University (NYU) when he auditioned for the Dell Dude gig. Despite the fact that the casting call was for 12- to 17-year-olds, Curtis booked the job. While it was supposed to only be one or two ads, audiences loved Steve, and Curtis ended up appearing in 26 commercials for the company.
Curtis stopped appearing in the commercials in 2003, after he was arrested for trying to buy marijuana. Dell's strict drug-free policy forced them to terminate his contract, although Dell was already moving in a new direction with their commercials.
While some may have believed that his omnipresence made Curtis a millionaire, he told Business Insider that he made something in the six-figure range for all the commercials. He has since spent all of the money, much of which went toward paying off his NYU student loans. Curtis said he struggled to find work because he was so strongly associated with the role of Steve the Dell Dude, and felt that he was blacklisted from the industry.
Curtis told Business Insider that he got into yoga, and he started a wellness company. According to Instagram, 39-year-old Curtis now teaches yoga and works as a life coach—or, as he calls it in his Instagram bio, a "personal freedom coach." His page is filled with inspirational quotes, as well as videos of his yoga practice.
But Curtis has not left acting behind entirely. Back in 2014, he told Business Insider that one of his goals was to finally make it onto Orange Is the New Black, a show he had auditioned for several times at that point. And he got his wish in 2018, appearing in a Season 6 episode of the Netflix series. He also appeared on an episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and in several independent films and shorts.
To a certain generation, of course, Curtis will always be remembered fondly as the Dell Dude—and there are worse legacies to have. And to find out what happened to another one of the commercial stars you grew up with, discover What the Little Girl From Those '90s Pepsi Commercials Looks Like Now.
